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About the Photographer

Kunavichayanont, Sutee

Thai, b. 1965

Sutee Kunavichayanont’s native Thailand has gone through rapid social and economic change since the 1990s. Kunavichayanont’s work is concerned with the evolution of his homeland’s culture in the face of globalization. Playing on the history and customs of Thailand in his multi-media practice, his work aims to understand a new national identity being constructed amid an influx of change.

His installation, “12 Reasons why Thai People are not Afraid of Globalization,” is part of a larger body of work entitled “Stereotyped Thailand,” first presented as an installation in 2005. These works exemplify how western and eastern culture can exist both in conflict or accord. Kunavichayanont playfully appropriates stereotypical aspects of his native culture, such as massage, boxing, elephants, and traditional dress and dance. In his original installation, made to look like a classroom, he subverts these elements to comment on western understanding of Thai culture in contrast with the reality of contemporary life in Thailand.